I am a Lecturer in Land Management Planning and Economics and course co-director of the BSc Forestry and Woodland Management degrees at Bangor University.  I am the module organiser for the Management Plan (DXX3702) and Forest Management Planning (DXX4530) modules. I am orginally began training as a land agent and agricultural surveyor having gained a BSc degree in Rural Land Management from the Royal Agricultural University. I first came to Bangor in 2015 following a period working as an agricultural surveyor to pursue the MSc in Environmental Forestry. This was followed by pursuing a KESS2 funded PhD in 2017 looking at the how trees can be used to enhance ecosystem service provision in the agriculturally dominated uplands of Wales. My main research interests are the benefits of trees on farms and integration of forestry with other land uses. 

Email: ashley.hardaker@bangor.ac.uk

Office: Room F20, Thoday Building, Bangor University

Twitter: @hardaker_ashley

I am an interdisciplinary researcher interested in land use, forestry, agroforestry and agricultural systems. I am particularly interested in research to inform decision making surrounding the adoption of trees on farms and how this might affect and enhance public and private economic benefits. I engage with a range of research disciplines including ecosystem services, decision analysis, GIS, economics and operations research.

Literature Review of Top Five Alternative Conifer Tree Species in Great Britain  

I was one of two lead authors on this project managed by the Welsh Government on behalf of the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments, having co-written the tender application with the Woodknowledge Wales team of Gary Newman, Tim Peters and Dainis Dauksta and Professor John Healey (Bangor University).  The final report of this project has now been published: Peters, T.D., Hardaker, A.R., Dauksta, D., Newman, G., Lellig, C., & Healey, J.R. (2021). Top Five Alternative Conifer Tree Species in Great Britain. Cardiff: Welsh Government, Government Social Research report number C160/2020/2021, 132 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/wkw-resource/forestry/top-five-alternative-conifer-tree-species-review

Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 

I was the lead author with contributions from Professor John Healey (Bangor University) on this Woodknowledge Wales project producing educational materials focussing on the economic aspects of woodland creation for producing timber which has produced the following six publications:

Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Financial evaluation of afforestation projects - basic steps. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 1. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 11 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation

Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Evaluating the financial costs of forestry. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 2. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 9 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation

Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Revenue from forestry enterprises. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 3. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 8 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation

Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Accounting for time. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 4. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 8 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation

Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Alternative tools for financial evaluation of forestry. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 5. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 9 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation

Hardaker, A. (with contributions from Healey, J.R.) (2021). Incorporating uncertainty and risk into forestry financial evaluations. Economic Aspects of Woodland Creation for Timber Production 6. Woodknowledge Wales in Association with Bangor University, 11 p. https://woodknowledge.wales/home-grown-homes/afforestation

Module organiser for:

• DXX-3702 Management Plan
• DXX4530 Forest Management Planning

Module contributor on:

• DXX1006 Making Snowdonia
• DXX1003 Forestry in the 21st Century
• DXX2010 Forest and Woodland Management
• DXX2001 Sustainable Development
• DXX3701 Research Project
• DXX4532 Forestry Study Tour
• DXX4999 MSc Dissertation
• DDL4004 Agroforestry Systems and Practice
• DXX4042 Agriculture and the Environment
• DDL4202 Silviculture

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Rural Land Management (Royal Agricultural University)

MSc Environmental Forestry (Bangor University)

PhD Agroforestry (Bangor University)